1. Field
The present application relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to systems, methods, and devices for monitoring the size of a wireless network.
2. Background
In many telecommunication systems, communications networks are used to exchange messages among several interacting spatially-separated devices. Networks can be classified according to geographic scope, which could be, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area. Such networks would be designated respectively as a wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), or personal area network (PAN). Networks also differ according to the switching/routing technique used to interconnect the various network nodes and devices (e.g. circuit switching vs. packet switching), the type of physical media employed for transmission (e.g. wired vs. wireless), and the set of communication protocols used (e.g. Internet protocol suite, SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking), Ethernet, etc.).
Wireless networks are often preferred when the network elements are mobile and thus have dynamic connectivity needs, or if the network architecture is formed in an ad hoc, rather than fixed, topology. Wireless networks employ intangible physical media in an unguided propagation mode using electromagnetic waves in the radio, microwave, infra-red, optical, etc. frequency bands. Wireless networks advantageously facilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment when compared to fixed wired networks.
Devices in a wireless network can transmit and/or receive information to and from each other. The information can include packets, which in some aspects can be referred to as data units. The packets can include overhead information (e.g., header information, packet properties, etc.) that helps in routing the packets through the network, identifying the data in the packets, processing the packets, etc. The packets can further include data, such as user data, multimedia content, etc. that can be carried in a payload of the packet.
To ensure scalable operation in a wireless network such as a social-WiFi network, transmissions by each device in the network should be controlled based on the number of devices in the network. For example, it may be desirable to adjust the rate at which beacons and/or timing signals are transmitted based on the number of devices in the network. In many applications, it is sufficient to obtain a rough estimate of the number of devices in the network. One way for a wireless device to track the number of devices in the network is to simply store any identifier received in a message and representing a device. Whenever a new message comes in, the device will compare the identifier in the new message to identifiers already stored at the device and store the identifier if it has not been previously stored. However, this approach can lead to large memory requirements and needs for sorting a larger number of received identifiers. Thus it is beneficial to have a method of tracking the number of devices in a wireless network, which can largely reduce the larger memory requirements and the needs for sorting the identifiers.